Libya has lost $ 48.6 billion in the last four years as a result of political conflicts

The governor of the Central Bank of Libya, the great friend, that the country has lost $ 48.6 billion in the past four years because of political conflicts.

He pointed out that government financial revenues will fall to $ 4.6 billion in 2016 from $ 53.2 billion in 2012 due to the collapse of oil production since 2013 for the outbreak of armed battles for political reasons and the interruption of work in oil installations and the resulting sharp fall in oil prices worldwide in 2014.

The main challenges that Libya is currently facing are the reasons for the political, economic and security conditions observed in the country since 2011, in addition to the global market situation and its impact on oil prices.

Al-Kabeer said in an interview with the magazine Global Finance that these conditions have caused the economy to fluctuate, have increased existing structural shortcomings and created uncertainty about monetary policy.

Economic indicators

Oil revenues fell by 90% or more than 60 billion dinar in four years, with revenues falling from 66 billion and 932 million dinars in 2012 to 6 billion and 665 million dinars in 2016, according to the latest economic bulletin for the second quarter of the year. Central Bank of Libya.

According to the bulletin, Libya saw a repeated closure of oil ports and stopped exports because of the armed skirmishes that broke out around the oil installations.

Although oil production rose significantly in 2017, oil revenues increased to 19.2 billion dinar, but remained 71.3% lower than 2012 revenues and amounted to 15 billion and 605 million dinar in the first half of this year ending 30 June.

The economic bulletin also showed a 39.6% decline in non-oil revenues, or 1.27 billion dinar in four years, to drop from 3 billion and 199 million dinars in 2012 to 1 billion and 929 million dinars in 2016.

But the non-oil revenues increased again to 3 billion and 128 million dinar in 2017, and in the first half of this year, which ended on 30 June last year, billions and 100 million dinar were added.

As a result of the repeated shocks in the oil sector in Libya, the governor of the US central bank said that this caused the balance of payments deficit between 2014 and 2017, putting Libya's foreign reserves and the fixed exchange rate under severe pressure.

"Political divisions have caused the collapse of financial and monetary institutions and have prevented the adoption of appropriate policies to absorb these shocks, which has affected Libyan's living standards of commodity shortages and a liquidity and inflation crisis."

Security issues

Despite the resumption of oil production in 2017 and the increase in financial revenues, the magazine quoted the US in October, the deep concern about the continued uncertainty surrounding the security situation in Libya and its financial policies, which remains an obstacle to the recovery of economy.

On the other hand, the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya said that the situation in Libya was influenced by political and economic developments in the countries of Africa and East Africa, because of the enormous limits of the state and the weakness of government institutions.

"One of the concerns is the growing phenomenon of illegal immigration to Europe via Libya and the rehabilitation of human smuggling networks between Libya and its neighbors," he said, deeply worried about the ability of some organizations to exploit instability for security reasons. in Libya as in the region.

"Our neighbors in Europe, Africa and the Middle East have a direct role to play in supporting stability and security in Libya," he said. "The international response so far was not appropriate given the huge challenges we are facing," he said. Libya's internal affairs worsened the situation.

Despite the political and economic conditions that Libya has experienced over the last seven years, the great US military emphasized that the state will be able to achieve political stability and prosperity in the future.

Unused riches

Libya has a vast untouched wealth of hydrocarbons and its proximity to the world oil and gas markets, enabling it to attract a great deal of foreign capital and expertise. He pointed out that Libya after the conflicts will be an important source of attraction for companies. That is active in the construction and infrastructure sector.

He pointed to the need to modernize service sectors such as healthcare, education and the banking sector, under the pressure of expected population growth and the diversification of sources that the government relies on revenues, as the Libyan economy depends primarily on financial income from the carbohydrate sector.

"Libya can play an important role in economic integration between North Africa and the Sahara countries, given the abundance of capital," he said. Libya could be a gateway for goods and goods between Europe and Africa. "